An Alternate Ending to Crash and Burn
by leefert
Summary: I wrote this alternate ending to Crash and Burn as my response to a fan fic challenge on a board. If Alex had to die, then it could have at least been in one piece. I used some of the actual scenes from Crash and Burn. Enjoy it!


_An Amendment to "Crash And Burn"- if Taylor had to die, she could have gone out as a firefighter. I spliced in a little bit of "The Truth and Other Lies." Crash and Burn is the episode where Jimmy was off and he was riding his motorcycle on the Hudson River Parkway when he was involved in a multi-vehicle pileup. Taylor was struck by a car and sent to the hospital. We begin in the scene before where she was working on the woman in the Volvo._

"Taylor. How's she looking?" Doc asked as he rounded the car

"Her pulse and respirations normal. BP 120 over 90. She's got a small head lac and pain to her neck, the baby seems fine." Taylor smiled as she rolled up the BP cuff.

"Leave her in the car and yellow tag 'em both." Doc said as he walked away to check on more patients.

The firefighters and medics continued around the scene to help the other patients from the accident. The woman cried out in pain for someone to help her baby and Doc sent Taylor to stay with her. Meanwhile Jimmy and Walsh finished the extrication of the patient who was in the convertible.

Taylor knelt down beside the back boarded woman assessing her abdomen. The baby was crying in the car.

"The baby's crying." The woman said

Taylor called for another paramedic to come over and get the baby.

"Vinnie can you come over a second?" Taylor asked

He walked over and leaned down. "Will you get the baby?" She asked

He nodded and Taylor smiled.

"Well your abdomen's soft and non tender." She told the woman. "You're doing okay."

The woman was slightly relieved. Vinnie placed the baby to the right of his mother. Taylor smiled again.

"Had the baby six months ago huh? You've been working out." She commented

"Is he okay?" The mother asked

Taylor leaned in, "Sure sounds like his lungs are workin' real good." Taylor laughed.

"He needs his gulley." The woman smiled

"Gulley?" Taylor asked somewhat confused.

"Pacifier." The woman replied

Suddenly it hit Taylor and she reached over and placed the pacifier in the baby's mouth, smiling when the little boy quieted down.

Taylor helped to move the woman to the ambulance.

"You're a paramedic and a firefighter?" The woman asked

"Yeah it gets confusing sometimes." Taylor laughed

"That's amazing." The woman replied. "I can't even balance a checkbook."

They slid the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.

"Neither can I." Taylor admitted as she closed the doors.

A couple of taps on the back and the ambulance pulled away. Taylor started to walk across the bridge when Yokas blew her whistle. Out of no where a black sedan came speeding through hitting Taylor's right leg and throwing her up over the car. Her upper body spidered the windshield. Jimmy turned around and saw Taylor falling from the car.

"Alex!" He screamed as he rushed over.

The car sped off with Bosco and Yokas in pursuit.

Taylor laid on the pavement as Jimmy quickly got to her.

"Alex. Alex can you hear me?" Jimmy asked

"Grab her head." Doc said as Carlos knelt beside her.

"Airway's clear." Carlos announced.

"Breathing's rhythmic and shallow." Doc said. "Let's get oxygen on her. Get a backboard and a C-collar." He ordered

"BP's 60 by palp. Resps less than 6." Carlos informed Doc.

"Start a liter of saline." Doc said, "She's got possible internal bleeding and a possible dislocation of the shoulder. I'll start a line on this side."

"Alex, Alex can you hear me?" Jimmy pleaded with her to wake up as Carlos put the collar around her neck.

"I'll bag her." Doc said as he put the mask over her face.

They moved her to the ambulance quickly and headed off for Mercy.

."Good breath sounds on the right, and on the left." Doc said

"BP's up to 90." Carlos announced

"Alex, Alex can you hear me?" Doc asked as Taylor opened her eyes.

"Doc." She said faintly

"Just relax. You were hit by a car and we're on the way to Mercy." Doc told her

Jimmy turned from the driver's seat, "Hang in there Alex." He said

"We're gonna take care of you." Doc

"Pulse has dropped." Carlos worried

"Bleeding." Doc said as Taylor closed her eyes again

Doc and Carlos shared a worried glance.

They wheeled Alex into the ER. Doc was rattling off vital signs.

"28 year old female struck by a car. BP 100 palp, pulse rate 130. LOC times 4 minutes. Pupils equal and reactive. Belly is distended and quiet." Doc said as they prepared to move the backboard to the trauma bed. "Possible shoulder dislocation." He added as they moved her. "Respiratory rate was 6 so we were bagging her up to 12 per minute."

As Doc and Carlos left the trauma room Jimmy asked how Taylor was.

"So what's going on?" Jimmy asked

Carlos shook his head. "She's got something internal going on." He replied

"How bad?" Jimmy asked worried about how she was.

"We really don't know." Doc admitted.

The doctor's moved Taylor out of the room.

"What's going on?" Doc asked

"She's got a hematoma in her abdomen." The doctor replied

Doc looked on in concern. He was worried about Taylor, just like the all were. Soon the entire Squad gathered in the waiting room. They were joined by some of the "Brass" from the Department, as well as Taylor's family.

Beth Taylor sat silently beside her brother-in-law. An occasional person would walk over to her, but her movements were automated. She showed very little emotion, she kept them inside of her. But, like everyone else in the room, she was very worried that her daughter might not survive.

**Meanwhile, in the operating room the surgeons worked to try and save Taylor's life. **

"**You say she's a New York Firefighter?" One of the surgeons asked**

"**Yeah, apparently got hit by a car on an accident scene." A nurse replied**

"**How could something like that happen?" Another asked**

"**I don't know." The nurse replied**

"**Scalpel." The first surgeon said as he held out his hand for the instrument. **

**Slowly he made an incision from just above Taylor's belly button and down towards her pelvis. Blood oozed out of the cut as another surgeon soon began to suction it away. **

"**Let's see if we can find the source of this bleeding shall we?" The surgeon said**

Carlos kept rehashing the incident in his head.

"We got her here as quickly as possible." He said. "She stands a good chance in there."

Doc looked over at him.

"Carlos, relax. Until we know something, it won't do any good to worry." Doc replied

"Easy for him to say." Jimmy muttered under his breath.

Walsh patted him on the back.

"Taylor's a fighter, she'll pull through this." Walsh said

"And what if she doesn't?" Jimmy asked

"She will." DK assured him.

Jimmy stood up and looked at everyone in the room.

"I need to take a walk." He said quietly

Walsh and DK watched as Jimmy walked out of the waiting room.

"This is rough." Walsh said

"Yeah." DK admitted

"I wish they'd just hurry up and come out with the news." Mac said

"Yeah, this long wait scares me." DK added

"**Whoa, we got a bleeder." The surgeon announced as he began to explore Taylor's abdomen.**

"**Pressure's dropping." The anesthesiologist announced**

"**Work fast." The other surgeon urged his colleague**

"**I don't know where the blood's coming from." The first surgeon admitted as he ran the bowel. "There's too much."**

**Suddenly alarms started sounding. **

"**She's crashing!" The anesthesiologist announced looking at the monitor**

"**Damn it!" The surgeon said, "I need more suction!" **

"**Where is the blood coming from?" The second surgeon asked**

"**The spleen's intact!" The first surgeon announced**

"**This doesn't make any sense." The second surgeon admitted**

**The alarms went from steady beeps to more frantic, solid alarms. **

"**We're loosing her!" The anesthesiologist cried out**

"**V-fib!" The nurse announced as the monitor alarm sounded.**

"**Start compressions." The surgeon announced**

"**She'll bleed out." The second surgeon protested**

"**She's bleeding out anyway!" The first surgeon replied. "She stands a chance of us finding the bleeding." **

**As the first few compressions were done the blood spurted from Taylor's abdomen.**

"**Give me a clamp!" The surgeon yelled, "She's ruptured her aorta!"**

"**Damn it!" The second surgeon yelled as the clamp was passed to the first, "We should have caught that." **

"**Come on Ms. Taylor, you gotta work with us." The first surgeon said. "Stay with us!" **

Time was moving slowly to those gathered in the waiting room. Lieutenant Johnson shifted uneasily in his chair. He pulled out the Rosary beads that he always carried with him and began to pray the Rosary.

"Think it'll help?" Beth Taylor asked him as she sat down beside him

"Never hurts to try." Lt. Johnson admitted

"Always the optimist Francis." She smiled slightly

"How you holdin' up?" He asked

"As well as can be expected I guess." She sighed

"Alex is tough." He replied

Beth sighed, "From the time she could talk she wanted to do whatever her father did. He fished, she fished. He loved football, she loved football. When he fixed something around the house she would just stare at him. Whatever he did. He got himself killed." She paused and a tear fell down her cheek. "I can't lose her too Francis."

Lt. Johnson put his arms around her as everyone in the room watched. He looked up and saw a surgeon walking towards them.

"Mrs. Taylor?" The surgeon asked

Beth straightened herself in her chair and took Lt. Johnson's hand.

"Yes?" Her voice trembled

"I'm Dr. Pennington; I was one of the surgeons who operated on your daughter." He said as he knelt down beside her.

"How is she?" Beth asked

He looked around the room and saw that everyone was focused on him, waiting to hear what was going to come out of his mouth next.

"Can we talk in private?" He asked

"Doctor, I appreciate your concern. But everyone in this room is family." Beth replied

He took a deep breath, obviously uncomfortable speaking in front of a crowd.

"Your daughter had internal bleeding. We tried to find the source of it, but her body couldn't handle it anymore. Her vitals started to drop before we could find the cause." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry Mrs. Taylor; your daughter couldn't fight any longer. She died."

He looked around the room at all of the shocked onlookers. Beth Taylor didn't react for a moment.

"If there's anything that we can do…" Dr. Pennington started to say

"Thank you." Lt. Johnson replied

Tears started to stream down Beth's face. Lt. Johnson pulled her to his chest as she started sobbing.

"No! No! Alex!" She cried out.

DK closed his eyes wishing that he was dreaming.

Walsh brushed his hand through his hair.

Carlos stood in shock. "No, it can't be. She was stable when she came in!"

"Carlos." Doc said solemnly

Everyone stood with the same stunned expression. How could Alex Taylor be gone? She had been their rock after 9/11- giving them strength when they should have been the ones supporting her. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

The church was filled with a sea of blue dress uniforms. Taylor's casket was draped with the American flag and a spread of flowers. There was a picture of Taylor in her bunker gear; her face was covered in soot, but her smile shined brightly through the grime.

_Insert monologue here as the Squad carries Taylor's casket out of the church._

"Alex Taylor died doing what she loved the most- being a firefighter. It seemed like she had gotten through so much without a scratch, but yet one instant can take everything away from you. We all admired Alex's strength and courage. She made it through 9/11 and the loss of her father. Hell, she made it through "The Rock," not an easy feat for a man, but even tougher for a woman. But her strength and courage made me admire her for the person she was. I lost one of my best friends that day. We all did. My only regret is not telling her how much I admired her. I don't think I could have ever gone through the adversity that she did. To tell you the truth, I probably would have given up. But not Alex, she was a fighter. I hope that in all of my life, I can be half the person that she was. She was a hero in every sense of the word, and for that I feel honored to have worked with her. She didn't deserve to go so young. Rest in peace Alex. Rest in peace." Jimmy said


End file.
